Bethel Park’s Mascaro garners MVP honors
Justina Mascaro scored more than 1,000 points in her career at Bethel Park. She averaged 12.8 points this season as the Hawks reached the WPIAL championship game for the second time in school history.
Justina Mascaro earned Almanac MVP honors for girls’ basketball. The Bethel Park senior bounced back from ACL surgery to lead her team to the WPIAL finals.
Justina Mascaro averaged 12.8 points and 5 rebounds a game in leading Bethel Park to the WPIAL 6-A finals. The senior will continue her playing career at the University of Delaware.
Justina Mascaro admits to being “a girlie-girl” but there’s grit behind that charm. The Bethel Park senior, who stopped running during a soccer game once because she was perspiring, recovered within six months from ACL surgery to lead her basketball team to the WPIAL 6-A championship game this season.
“What she did was remarkable,” said her high school coach Jonna Burke. “Justina fought her way back after a devastating injury to lead us on a winning streak that led us to the WPIAL final. She was the glue that brought all the pieces together.”
For Justina, it wasn’t always that way. As a youth, she despised sports. Though she played volleyball in middle school and softball in her youth, soccer turned her off completely.
“It’s kind of funny,” she said. “In first grade, I remember playing soccer and I would be running down the field and stopping. My mom would say ‘what are you doing?’ And, I’d say ‘I’m sweating.’ ‘I don’t want to run anymore.’
“Really,” continued the 18-year-old daughter of Holly Mascaro, “I hated sports growing up. I would cry at every game. But then my friend made travel basketball, and what do you know? I’m here now.”
No more tears indeed. Mascaro didn’t even cry when she tore her ACL on June 28. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” she said.
Playing with her high school squad in a summer league game against Brentwood in McKeesport, Mascaro drove down the court on a fast break. She went to make a move that she had done 10 times in the game already. But this time, something strange happened. “It’s weird,” she said. “Your knee pops out of place.” Mascaro thought she had hyper-extended her knee. “Honestly, I didn’t cry or scream.”
Nevertheless Mascaro suffered excruciating pain when she realized her senior season and her hopes for a college scholarship were jeopardized.
On July 21, Dr. Craig S. Mauro from Burke & Bradley Orthopedics performed surgery on Mascaro’s knee at UPMC St. Margaret Hospital. Because the tear did not involve her meniscus or the other two ligaments (LCL or MCL) in her knee, Mascaro pursued an aggressive therapy.
While her doctor cautioned her the typical recovery time was between seven to nine months, Mascaro was determined to play her senior season.
“He said that usually it’s that long before I clear people but I wanted to play,” she said. “Therapy was real frustrating. Think about learning how to walk and run again. It was just strange and very painful. Just bending your knee to 45 degrees was very painful. You would be like breaking scar tissue. It was rough.”
Waiting for clearance and watching her teammates struggle to a 2-4 record in section play, Mascaro wrestled with anxiety and a feeling of helplessness.
“It was very frustrating because I felt like I could do what I could do, like work hard every day to get better, but it was a doctor’s decision whether or not I could (play),” she said.
As soon as she was released to play, Bethel Park embarked on a nine-game winning streak. Behind the motivated Mascaro, the Hawks upset Mt. Lebanon, 38-32, in section action and earned a playoff berth with a 6-4 slate and third-place showing in the division. The Hawks also toppled the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds in the WPIAL tournament, upending Pine-Richland, 52-44, and Penn Hills, 41-36.
”Once cleared,” Mascaro said, “I was like ‘we are not losing. Let’s go.’ And, in the playoffs, I definitely forgot about (the knee). Usually adrenaline would kick in and it didn’t hurt but I did notice it. I could not do stuff that I used to do so I had to ease back into things. In the end, it was all good and very exciting.”
Playing at the Petersen Events Center for the WPIAL championship proved most thrilling for Mascaro as the Hawks have only won one title in school history.
“Playing at the ‘Pete’ was awesome,” Mascaro explained. “It was bittersweet that we did not win and it didn’t end how I wanted it to but it was a great experience. I would have never guessed at the beginning of my senior year that I would be there.”
Mascaro ended up leading the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game. She also managed five rebounds for the Hawks, who finished 19-8 overall. Plus, she did earn her scholarship. Mascaro accepted an offer from the University of Delaware. She will play for the Blue Hens, who compete in the Colonial Athletic Association, and major in finance.
“I dreamed of playing Division I but after my knee injury schools said they would wait and that they weren’t going away but then I didn’t hear from them and that really upset me,” Mascaro said. “Just because I got an injury didn’t mean I’m not the same player.
“So it was a real hard process for that. It was tough. Some came back saying ‘we knew you could do it’ and I was like ‘okay, basically I told you’ but it all worked out because I loved Delaware. The coaches. The campus. It offers a lot of good opportunities.”
While the Blue Hens offer playing time, the school affords Mascaro a future. She hopes to eventually work with her father and brothers in the family’s construction company.
As far as basketball is concerned, Mascaro said her goals are to work hard and get playing time. “I want to make an impact and play as many minutes as possible.”
As far as athletics beyond college, Mascaro does not envision prospects. She doesn’t see a future beyond college. “No overseas. No WNBA,” she said. “I’ve got to be realistic about it and focus on my education.”
Her experience with the knee injury has been an education unto itself. And, playing sports has provided many life lessons. Mascaro said that overcoming the knee injury has taught her to work hard in everything.
“And you will accomplish it and even if you don’t then you know that you put everything into it. That is something my dad has taught me since I was a little kid,” said the daughter of John Mascaro. “So that definitely helped me through this process. Everything will be all right in the end and I learned that for sure.
At times, I doubted myself,” she added. “Don’t every do that. Believe in yourself and you will accomplish anything.”
As for sports, Mascaro added the biggest life lesson she has learned it to work as a team.
“You need to take responsibility for your actions. Keep a positive attitude to make a positive impact. Negativity spreads like wildfire. If one person is negative, then everyone will be negative and you are not going to accomplish your goal.”
Throughout her career, Mascaro has accomplished many goals. She surpassed the 1,000-point milestone as a junior and finished among the top scorers in the program. An all-section performer, she mostly recently has been named The Almanac’s MVP for girls’ basketball.
“I didn’t expect my senior season to end with such great awards so it’s very exciting,” Mascaro said. “It means a lot. It also demonstrates that you can accomplish what you want if you put your mind to it.”